Enercare Home Services

(The approximate cost is calculated by the years of paid monthly charges)

I urge everyone with valuable time to stay far away from Direct Energy.

Unfortunately, like thousands of people in the Toronto GTA, my wife and I were affected by the severe thunderstorm on July 8th. Like thousands, our journey home was a long struggle to arrive to a flood in our basement that was impossible to bail with two buckets in the dark due to the power failure and, like many, we are still cleaning up.

We called DE the following day because our pilot light was out in our water heater this has meant no hot water at all. We were told that a technician would be sent on the same day to re-light it within a 4 hour window — between 11am and 3pm. I dutifully took time off work and waited. I followed up with customer service at approximately 2:30. The tech was running behind due to the mess left by the storm. It was explained to me that an error was made by a new customer service rep and, after taking a day off work, that the appointment was actually booked for July 11 (two more days to go without a proper shower)— though within 24 hours is usually the standard. Customer service made little effort to apologize, but given the scale of the storm the previous night, it was understandable that same-day service was unavailable and to err is human. So more time off work was needed for DE. The technician did come out on July 11 (hence the 2 star rating) and discovered a possible faulty part, he suggested just replacing the water heater. He assured that it would be all taken care of within 24hrs. No further action was needed from me so I signed on the dotted line and spent another day off work. When early afternoon came along and there was little sign of them, I called customer service to ask for an ETA. Unbelievably, I was told again that nothing was ever booked, but with apologies, they would have someone call me within the next 3 hours. Again, allowing that the delay was easily due to the storm, I hung up with my reference number in my hands. 4 hours went by and nothing. I called back “customer service” (note the quote marks now), after being transferred at least twice within the 30-40 minutes spent between agents and being on hold (recordings of “…your time is valuable to us”), I again reached the same supervisor who, without any empathy, told me a technician would now be out on Monday. Making it seven days without access to hot water.

In short, DE shamefully used the storm as an excuse for their incompetence. Why mislead customers by setting appointments that they knowingly couldn’t keep "due to the storm"? Not once, but three times — and given the odds — it’s yet to be seen whether the commitment to the fourth appointment is kept. As the supervisor nonchalantly said, “I guess we’ll have to deal with that then”. She also said that it wasn’t her fault that the other reps gave us false dates — she could only speak for herself. As a rep of DE, when you answer a customer call, I assume you are the voice of the company. When asked if there was someone more senior I could speak to, she told me to look it up on the website myself. This incident is not her fault —most customer service centres train by script — but it was like DE giving a big shrug over the phone. this only added further insult to injury as we continue to mop up around a dead water heater and then shower in nothing but cold water.

First world problems? Yes. But we pay first world service fees, which are hard earned. Why not expect first world standards from the companies that takes our money? Unlike, the executives at DE (surely bathing in hot water), it’s impossible to take this much time off work without taking a loss. When will large companies be held accountable?

Companies that practice integrity and commitment to customer service are well worth what is owed to them. Direct Energy is NOT that company. Avoid them at all cost.

I would not recommend Direct Energy Home Service to anyone. I had issues with coil drain line, I explained the problem to the customer service rep on the phone but he sold me the expensive plan. The technician came to the house open the drain pipe and unclogged it and I still had to pay $179+ taxes. I am so disappointed that they will do this to the customer.I am going to be cancelling the plan as I don't trust the company

I pay a monthly fee to Direct Energy for a water heater rental. Part of the agreement is they are responsible for service to ensure I have a reliable supply of hot water.

My rental water heater recently intermittently stopped delivering hot water. So I called Direct Energy and they sent out a repair person the same day. The repair person performed a "repair". After he left, I promptly discovered he butchered the repair and I had no hot water at all! So a call back to direct energy resulted in them telling me I had to wait 2 days for a repair person to come back. I explained to them it was the botched repair that was the reuslt of the water heater not working. They don't care, its like talking to robots. So in the meantime, my family including my young daughter is taking a cold bath. Nice.

Go elsewhere for your hot water requirements, you can do better than Direct Energy.

Update: July 12, 2013. Direct energy sent out a second repair person to figure out why I don't have hot water. Repair person was in/out of my home in 5 minutes and assured me repair was done and I'd have hot water in "45 minutes". Surprise, no hot water after 45 minutes!!! I called Direct Energy back and they would not send another repair person back, instead they said I'd have to book another slot, 5 days later! So here I am, 5 days no hot water with no end in sight. Beware of Direct Energy. Pathetic...

Update July 16/13. Direct Energy repair person showed up yesterday to repair the water heater. They replaced the same again, as it appears the original part was defective. I'm still giving Direct Energy a 0 rating, due to rushing through repairs, beligerent phone staff and general contempt for customers. Now that my water heater is working again, the next thing I'll be doing is shopping for a new water heater (from someone other than Direct Energy) so I can completely stop doing business with Direct Energy!

Ignore the Direct Energy Troll comments below asking me for contact info so they can "investigate". Everything that I've articulated in this review has been communicated to direct energy. They seem OK with delivering sub-part, incompetent service to their customers. Though they offer world class performance when it comes to billing me! I haven't seen an offer yet to credit me my rental fee for this month. Billing for service and not delivering seems par for the course for Direct Energy.

I am very sad to report that my family will no longer be doing business with this company anymore. I am giving them one star in honour and appreciation of the good technicians we've dealt with over the years. I noticed that our Central Air Conditioning unit wasn't working several sundays ago (before the first, "heat wave" of 2013. I called and Direct Energy sent out a tech the next day (monday). He cleaned the outside chiller unit, told me he'd order the necessary part and it would more than likely be installed two days later(wednesday). Wednesday came and went with no word from the company or the tech. The next day (thursday) my wife gets a call from Direct Energy. The person on the phone asked my wife if she wanted to order the part?????????????????? I wasn't very happy when I heard this so I phoned them back and they said they'd send a tech out with the part on the saturday of the same week. So, saturday roles around and I get a call from their tech. He states that since it's raining out he won't be able to do the job. Well, as far as I could see the rain in my area was very spotty and there were clear breaks that lasted 20-30 minutes! I'm no CAC expert but I'm pretty sure the job could have been done within that time period. So, he then states that he'd set an appointment for someone to come out the next monday. So, on monday a COMPETENT tech shows up. He ran in and out of our house a few dozen times. And, after an hour plus states, "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened before [with the previous tech's visit] but your CAC is shot...it's not working." And, that week was the start of the first heat wave in this area for 2013! So, we spent $135. for them to clean our broken unit??? It's sad to think that customer service is essentially non existent for this company.

As our rented water heater was nearing the end of its life we asked Direct Energy to replace it with a new model. They promised that their installation fee ($100) would be waved because the water / gas drops were already supplied and nearby.

When they arrived, DE decided they didn't like the placement of the gas drop and installed their own. They then proceeded to bill me $250 + HST for this "service." I did not approve of this, nor was it necessary.

I had to call and file a complaint against the charge, and continued my conversation with Direct Energy. They refused a refund. It was only after I wrote a letter to their "office of the president" that a refund was finally given.

Home owners beware.

The first call, the consultation, the on site check before the install date and the installation.. all a great experience.
Direct Energy was not the most economical quote we received as we did invite other companies to this project but, they were the most thorough on our requirements, asked us questions and delivered on time and kept all promises. When your making such a big investment, peace of mind, quality of product and service is worth the cost. Happy to have our improved cool home!

In Oct/2012, had my rental water heater replaced with exactly same model from direct energy as it broke down. Serviceman said it would cost $300 to pay for new white exhaust pipes due to regulations and I was okay with this as it is due to regs. When sub-contractors came to install they said it will cost more than double that amount .I needed the tank so I regretfully agreed to pay a slighlty reduced amount from the $600. Than worse is that D.E. changed my rental rate from 21.95 to 28.99 per month as a result of replacing the water heater. I have been arguing with them since January 2013, about this uncalled for change in my rental rate. I am still waiting now for months for them to provide me a copy of any written document that enables them to change the rental rate resulting from replacing a defective water heater with a new exact model as the old. it has been a horrible ordeal so far. This will cost me an extra $100 a year for the next 10 to 15 years.

I was delighted with the service provided by technician, Sean Donaldson. He was punctual, professional and extremely knowledgable about his work. I will definitely deal with Direct Energy again because of this positive experience. Clearly,Sean is a tremendous asset to this company. I recommend him highly.

A quick update to my complaint. I am pleased to say that I was contacted by the Office of the President at Direct Energy Home Services and they have agreed to re-imburse the cancellation fee. They have resolved the issue to my satisfaction. Thankyou.

Below is my original complaint. Their response was completely erroneous. The company has no intention of refunding the cancellation fee and have been quite patronizing in their response. CTV news was contacted and they will look further into my complaint. A word of warning to other consumers... DO NOT enter a protection plan agreement on line. It's not worth it. Read the rest of the reviews on this site and others and you will come to the same conclusion.
Anne B.

Anne B from Collingwood 1 | Oshawa Location | May 27, 2013
0
Direct Energy refused to cancel a renewal that was not authorized back in January. In April they told us the contract would be cancelled but the May billing included $151 charge for a cancelled annual plan. I am a senior of 82 yrs of age and on a fixed income and can't believe they are so dishonest and unprofessional at customer service. They even refused to allow us to speak to a supervisor...Rude, Rude, Rude. Beware they are dishonest to customers without any regrets whatsoever.
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Price & Advice
Company Response:
Hi Anne, Sorry to hear about this experience. Can you please send us your information so we can investigate further and resolve your issue. Thank you.